Farage promotes Jenrick and Braverman as he unveils new Reform front bench
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Reform UK will set out its plans for a swathe of new proposals to tackle immigration, including mass deportations and ramped up surveillance.
The party’s new home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, will deliver a speech on Reform’s plans to create a new “Trump inspired” deportation agency with the capacity to detain 24,000 migrants at a time, modelled on the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the US.
Mr Yusuf will also outline plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain and replace it with a renewable five-year work visa and dedicated spouse visa on Monday morning.
The speech will also see the party unveil plans for a new rule mandating automatic home searches for anyone referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme by three “separate, corroborating authorities”.
Labour hit out at the plans, saying Britain is a “proud, tolerant and diverse nation”, which stands in opposition to the “divisive politics stoked by Reform”.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International UK accused the party of scapegoating migrants to “justify mass deportations and expanded police surveillance”.
‘Substantial reform is desperately needed so that they get the support they need’
Responding to the schools white paper, Cllr Louise Gittins, chair of the local government association, said: “For too long, the SEND system has been failing children, young people and their families. Substantial reform is desperately needed so that they get the support they need.
“We’re pleased the government shares our aspiration that children with SEND who require support do so in a mainstream setting where appropriate; and that all children can reach their potential.
“Councils want every child to get the support they need without parents and carers necessarily having to apply for a statutory plan.
“For improved mainstream inclusion to be successful, all settings need to be empowered and resourced to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, with a workforce that has the capacity and right skills.
“Councils have a key role to play and will need powers to lead local SEND systems and to hold health and education partners to account, to make sure they are meeting children’s needs.
“The LGA looks forward to studying, responding and working with government and partners on the White Paper to ensure it meets the needs of children and their families.”
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 09:35
Starmer sets out £4bn SEND reform package
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer (Matthew Horwood/PA)
The current system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) “does not work”, Sir Keir Starmer said, as he set out a £4 billion reform package.
Mainstream schools in England will receive direct funding to support Send children as part of a plan to make the system more inclusive.
Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major government overhaul.
Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.
Another £1.8 billion over the same period will go towards creating an “experts at hand” service, made up of specialists such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.
Schools will be able to draw from this bank on demand regardless of whether pupils have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to – the Department for Education (DfE) said.
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 09:10
‘For so many children, they are held back by a system that doesn’t work for them’, Starmer says of Send reforms
Elsewhere, mainstream schools will receive direct funding to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) as part of a £4 billion package to make the system more inclusive.
Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major Government overhaul to be announced on Monday.
Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.
Sir Keir Starmer said the reforms would help youngsters make the most of their talents.
At a breakfast meeting with school leaders and charities in Downing Street, the prime minister said: “For so many children, they are held back by a system that doesn’t work for them.”
The prime minister referred to his own brother Nick, who died on Boxing Day 2024, who had struggled with learning difficulties and was “put to one side”, adding that “his life was very different from mine” because the system did not work for him.
“I’m not saying for a moment there haven’t been huge improvements since then, but that same sense is still there of children who cannot find the opportunities and chances they need to go as far as their talents and their ability will take them,” Sir Keir said.
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 08:54
‘Reform wants to divide our country’, Labour says
About Mr Yusuf’s upcoming speech, Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “Reform wants to divide our country, not deliver for the British people.
“Their plan to deport people who have followed the rules, worked hard and built their lives here – our friends, neighbours and colleagues – is a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British.”
She added: “The British people are right to expect firm control of our borders – with clear rules about who can come here and swift action against those with no right to be here – alongside action to make our country safe – and that is what Labour is delivering.”
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 08:32
Reform accused of launching a ‘direct attack on settled families’
Amnesty International UK has accused Reform UK of scapegoating migrants to “justify mass deportations and expanded police surveillance”
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 08:29
Reform to outline plans for ICE-style UK border agency
The plans for a new deportation agency would have the capacity to detain 24,000 migrants at a time and deport up to 288,000 annually, Reform said, as well as promising to run five deportation flights each day.
Ms Yusuf is expected to say: “For decades, the Tories and Labour have turned the other way while the very fabric of our society has been under assault.
“The social contract has not merely been broken; it’s been shattered. Under a Reform government, His Majesty’s Parliament will be sovereign once again.
“We will secure our borders, leave the ECHR and deport those here illegally. My message to the British people is simple: I will secure our borders and make you feel safe.”
Dan Haygarth23 February 2026 08:25
